Glimpses of Us
by LoryLynn1186
Summary: AU. Glimpses of the future lives of the NCIS team centered around the newest member of the family.
1. Babysitter

**Okay so I know what you're thinking: another 'Tony gets Ziva pregnant' story. Well you're right…kind of. Same story but I'm going to try to introduce some new twists into it. I'm introducing this universe to see the reaction to it. If you guys like it I'll add some more. If you hate it, this story will fade into the deep recesses of , never to be heard from again. Either way let me know!**

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He was almost done securing the final plank in place when he heard the cries begin. He paused for a moment, gauging the intensity of the wails before gently placing the tools back in their respective places. He figured he had at least twenty more seconds before the cries for attention turned into those of desperation. Climbing the stairs quickly, he entered his living room to find the little girl, the closest thing he's ever get to a grandchild, standing in her playpen. Her chubby cheeks were red from the exertion of crying and her curly, dark hair stood out in every which direction.

"Good morning sleepy head," Gibbs smiled at her. Immediately the little girl's arms shot toward him, begging to be removed from her padded prison. Gibbs happily obliged, hoisting her up and balancing her against his hip. She dropped her head to his shoulder, as was customary when she first woke up, her thumb instinctively finding her mouth.

"Mommy will be here soon," he informed her, sinking backward onto the couch bringing the infant to sit on his lap. She leaned back against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat acting as a makeshift lullaby. He used to do this with Kelly when she was younger; they would sit for hours in this same position.

"Mum," she gurgled bringing a smile to Jethro's face.

"That's right," he laughed. "You're getting too smart for your own good." Now fully awake, she began to squirm in his lap so Gibbs placed her on the floor. "All right wiggle worm, down you go." She pulled herself to a standing position with the help of the coffee table and looked back at him with a questioning gaze. "You know where the toys are," he said pointing to the corner of the room where a brand new wooden toy box—an early birthday gift—sat nearly overflowing with toys. She took off on wobbly legs, each step more confident than the last, until she reached her destination.

'_I can't believe she's walking already,'_ he thought. _'They grow up way too fast.'_ It was cliché to think it, but it felt like just last week that he'd learned about the unexpected addition to their team.

_Gibbs stepped into the elevator where his two best field agents waited for him, wearing matching expressions of fear and worry. As the metal box descended, he reached over and flipped the emergency stop switch. The elevator halted to a stop, its gears and cables protesting the overuse of that particular function._

"_Something you two want to tell me?" he asked. Tony and Ziva glanced at one another, a silent conversation occurring between them until Tony finally spoke up._

"_We uh…we broke a rule, boss," he said scratching the back of his head nervously. Gibbs noticed with some amusement that it was the same spot where his hand usually landed when it struck his senior field's agent's head._

"_Rule 12." It was a statement, not a question. Both agents' eyes dropped to the floor. "I know. Known for some time." Their eyes snapped back up at this, mirrored looks of surprise on their faces. Gibbs had to smirk, "Why does everyone think I'm so clueless?"_

"_We don't," Ziva protested immediately._

"_Out of the loop—maybe, but not clueless," Tony added. This earned him a sharp glare from Gibbs and an elbow to the stomach from Ziva._

"_Look, I saw this coming. It was inevitable." He reached over and flipped the switch again bringing the machine back to life and essentially ending the awkward conversation. "Keep it out of work and there won't be a problem."_

_Ziva reached over and flipped the switch again. Another chorus of protests was heard from above._

"_You know someday this elevator is going to break and then we're going to have to take the stairs," Tony joked. No one laughed._

_Gibbs focused his attention on the woman in front of him. "Something you wanna add Office Dav-eed?" he asked drawing out her last name._

_She usually met his stares head on, refusing to let anyone intimidate her, but today the Mossad trained assassin diverted her eyes. That was not a good sign. "There's a problem," she said, her voice no longer held its assured tone._

"_I really wish you would stop referring to this as a problem," Tony said. For a moment his and Ziva's eyes locked in a silent battle of wills; one that could go on for days._

"_What's the problem?" Gibbs asked. "You two didn't get married did you? Thought I gave you enough examples of why that WASN'T a good idea."_

"_That's not it," Tony started. "Well, you see…we uh…the thing is boss…"_

"_I'm pregnant."_

To say that Gibbs had been pissed that day would have been an understatement. Once he had comprehended what he was being told, he's schooled both of them on the importance of protection—though both swore that such precautions had been taken. Then he'd marched them straight upstairs, passed a bewildered McGee, to the Director's office. Jenny had been far more understanding, even going as far as to congratulate the couple, though judging by their faces she wasn't sure if that was what they wanted to hear. Changes had occurred, announcements were made and 8 months and 23 days later Natalie Rebecca DiNozzo-David was born. The name was a mouthful, but thankfully it was rarely used. The young girl—and newest member of the NCIS family—was referred to simply as Tali.

Gibbs was pulled from his reverie when a small ball bounced off his shin. He laughed, picking up the object and squeezing it in his palm.

"Ba! Ba!" Tali said. Her chubby fingers reached toward Gibbs, begging for her toy back. Jethro smiled and rolled the ball back to her. She promptly picked it up and tossed it back in his general direction, the ball flying wildly off target. Both were enjoying their impromptu game of catch before a knock at the door interrupted them.

"I think I know who that is," he said picking up Tali and heading for the front door. Checking the peep hole, Gibbs opened the door and allowed Ziva and Abby to enter. The pair immediately dropped their bags to the floor, the former turning to her boss.

"There is my malekh," she said reaching for the girl in Gibbs's arms. Tali nearly threw herself into her mother's waiting arms. "Were you a good girl today?"

"A little angel," he answered smoothing a hand over her unruly hair.

"As always," Abby added with a laugh. She came up behind Ziva and began playing peek-a-boo with her favorite niece. Tali smiled in response, throwing herself from side to side in order to catch a glimpse of Abby's face.

"Think you bought enough stuff?" Gibbs asked. He rifled through the bags on the floor, taking inventory of the balloons, streamers, and such. He pulled out a pack of plates and looked at them. "Never pegged you for the princess type, Ziver."

The Israeli rolled her eyes at the comment. "It was not my first choice," she admitted. "Not that I had much of a choice in the matter." This comment was directed at the woman next to her.

Abby balked, "Hey I'm not saying that the stuff you picked out wasn't good, but these are much better. Sponge Bob has got to be the most annoying cartoon on the planet. These are much girlier...more girly."

Ziva laughed. "Annoying or not, she loves that show. It comes on and neither she nor Tony moves for a half hour. But I do worry that it is rotting their brains."

Gibbs gave the women a confused look. "I'm assuming this Bob person is a cartoon of some kind?"

"Yeah, it's a show on Nickelodeon about a talking sponge," Abby explained.

"Talking sponge?"

"It is filled with bright colors and crude humor," Ziva explained. "No wonder Tony loves it so much."

Gibbs laughed, replacing the plates in their bag. "That really doesn't surprise me. DiNozzo always did have the mind of a child."

Abby smiled wickedly as she leaned over to whisper in Ziva's ear. "A very weird and perverted child from what I hear."

Ziva smiled, diverting her attention from the images Abby's comment brought to mind she bounced Tali on her hip. "Why don't you go with Aunt Abby while I gather your things?"

Abby reached her arms out toward the girl, wiggling her fingers. Tali looked at Abby for a moment before launching herself into the Goth's arms. Momentarily relieved of the added weight, Ziva set to gathering her child's belongings and stuffing them into the diaper bag. "Is everything set for tomorrow?" she asked swinging the bag over her shoulder.

Gibbs nodded. "Food's in the refrigerator. I'll start grilling around noon. Jenny's stopping for the cake on her way over."

"And Tim and I will be here early to help decorate," Abby added. She squealed slightly when Tali grabbed onto her pigtails and pulled them down.

"And you are sure you do not mind us using your home for the party?" Ziva asked batting Tali's hands away from her friend's hair.

"If I did I wouldn't have let Abby talk me into it," Gibbs said. He ushered the party toward the door. "Now get moving. I'm sure DiNozzo is going crazy wondering where you are."

On cue Ziva's cell began ringing. She didn't need to see the caller id to know that it was Tony as the chorus of Saving Abel's "Addicted" reached her ears. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, which she attempted to cover as she fumbled for her phone. "Goodbye Gibbs. We will see you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder. Finally finding the device, she cast a glance at Abby who was laughing as she strapped Tali into her car seat.

"Shalom," Ziva greeted.

"Where are you guys? Please tell me you aren't still shopping."

"Hello to you too, Tony."

"Hi Tony!" Abby called from the back seat. She finished strapping Tali into her car seat and climbed into the passenger's seat next to Ziva.

"We just picked up Tali from Gibbs's," Ziva explained. "I will drop Abby off and then come home. Abby says hello."

"Hey Abs," Tony said. "Do you want me to meet you at the car? I'm sure you bought the store out."

"I am not a buy-a-holic Tony," Ziva growled.

"Shop-a-holic," Tony corrected. "I'm just offering to help."

"We left everything at Gibbs's anyhow," Ziva told him.

"Okay," he responded. Ziva could almost hear the smirk as the next words tumbled out of his mouth. "Perhaps we can put Tali down for her nap when you get home. Then you and I can…get reacquainted?"

Ziva considered this for a second; it sounded like an excellent idea. Sparing a quick glance in her rearview mirror she noticed Tali's rapidly drooping eyelids. Without a doubt she would be fast asleep in a matter of minutes; car rides always seemed to knock her out. She would be at Abby's in a few moments and then it was only a twenty minute drive back home, thirty if traffic was bad. It was not unusual for Tali to take hour long naps. This was definitely doable.

"I should be home in about twenty minutes. Meet me at the car."

Tony laughed, "I thought you didn't need help."

"Not with bags, but your daughter is very heavy," Ziva said pulling up in front of Abby's building. "Especially when she is sleeping."

"Ah gotcha," Tony said. "Arrive'derci bella."

Ziva smiled. "Ciao amante," she responded before snapping her phone closed.

"Amante?" Abby looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Since when do you speak Italian? Oh wait, never mind. I forgot who I was speaking to."

Ziva laughed, "Only with Tony."

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**Again I'm not sure where this chapter was meant to go. I wrote it as an introduction to the universe in hopes that it would gain mass popularity and make me a best selling author. Anywho, review it and let me know what you think. If you guys like it there will be more to come!**

**Translations:  
****Malekh—Hebrew, "angel"  
****Arrive'derci bella—Italian, "goodbye beautiful"  
****Ciao amante—Italian, "bye lover"**


	2. Reassurances

**Chapter 2: Reassurance  
****A/N: I've decided that this story will be a series of one shots. They will all be set in the same universe but will not necessarily be in any kind a sequential order. Enjoy!!  
****Also consider yourselves warned for major fluff ahead!**

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"Man, I can't believe it's been a year already," Tony said. He stood in the nursery doorway leaning against the door jam watching his daughter sleep. Ziva stood in front of him leaning back against his broader frame, her arms crossed over her chest, his hands resting on her hips. These were the moments that he treasured: a beautiful woman in his arms and a sleeping child.

"I know," she sighed. "It was a lovely party."

"Yeah it was," Tony laughed. "I will forever have the image of Probie's face smeared with icing in my mind." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Pressing a few buttons he displayed the lucky picture he had snapped of the event as well. "And on my phone too."

Ziva laughed quietly so as not wake the sleeping child. "I hope Gibbs will be able to get the stain out of his carpet. I've never seen her throw up so much."

"It was like a scene from the Exorcist. I guess that's what happens when you eat half a pound of icing," Tony said. He slid his hands from her hips until they rested against her stomach. "I miss your baby bump," he whispered in her ear.

"You are joking," Ziva exclaimed. She quickly lowered her voice, checking to make sure Tali was still asleep. "I have finally gotten my weight back to what it was before I got pregnant. I am not about to throw all that work away so you can knock me up again."

"Come on," Tony laughed. "You can't tell me you didn't love being pregnant."

She gave him an incredulous look, pulling him down the hallway in into the living room. They both took seats on the couch facing one another. "I do not miss the morning sickness, the strange cravings, the desk duty or the stretch marks," she said with a grin. "However I do miss you waiting on me arm and leg—"

"Hand and foot."

"Whatever. Do you remember when you made me an omelet at 3:00 in the morning?" she asked.

Tony rolled his eyes. "It was 4:00 and I don't know if you could even call it an omelet. That thing had so much crap in it even I was disgusted."

"It was a vegetable omelet!"

"Raisins are not a vegetable Ziva," Tony corrected her. "And for that matter, neither are pistachios or gummy bears."

"Yes, but zucchini, eggplant, and jalapeños are," Ziva countered. "It tasted so good." She closed her eyes, licking her lips at the memory. Even now she wasn't sure if she would have used all the ingredients but she could still go for a good omelet.

"I can't believe Tali doesn't have some kind of deformity from the weird stuff you ate," Tony laughed. "It was well worth it to see the look on your face with that first bite though."

Ziva smiled sadly. "I miss those moments. I miss the way you used to look at me as well."

Tony's playful gaze dropped instantly as he leveled his eyes at Ziva. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes focused on some point across the room, looking but not really seeing anything. "You used to look at me like I was the most gorgeous thing you had ever seen. Even when I was the size of a small car, you always had this way of making me feel as though I was still beautiful." She didn't dare look at him while she spoke because she knew her voice would crack. Even now she had no idea where these words were coming from. "I have not seen that look in a long time."

Tony was taken aback. Did she really doubt his feelings for her? He thought that their relationship was good, unconventional to say the least, but still good. Not many people could pull off the sort of arrangement they had: living with one another, raising their child together, remaining romantically involved, but having no sort of legal commitment. He knew it would get to be too much to handle at some point, but Tony never thought Ziva would be the one to break down first.

"Ziva you know I love you," he said. "Everything you do makes me fall even more in love with you. Every night when I go to bed and listen to the sound of your snores. Those mornings that you wake me up with a fresh cup of coffee on the nightstand. Every time I look at Tali I see so much of you in her." Tony tilted his head to the side in an attempt to get her attention, but she avoided his gaze.

"Do you remember that time we went dancing?"

The question was random and definitely unexpected, but it brought a small smile to Ziva's otherwise stoic face. "My feet were so swelled I could barely fit them into any of my shoes. Then I spilled my water all over my dress. The **one** dress that actually fit me at the time."

"Our waiter had the most bizarre accent I've ever heard," Tony laughed. "May I take your order," he said mimicking what he remembered of the horrid accent.

Ziva laughed even harder. "It was clearly a fake accent. And do you remember when I asked him where he was from?"

Tony shook his head in amusement. "And he says Greece. The look on his face when you started speaking Greek was absolutely priceless."

The laughter persisted for a few moments before fading out completely. Tony reached over and took Ziva's hand in his own. Running his thumb over her knuckles, his other hand turned her chin toward him. He brought his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

"I love you Ziva David," he whispered against her lips. "I love you as my friend, my partner, my girlfriend, as the mother of my beautiful daughter." He kissed her again this time a little more forcefully. "I love it when you threaten me with bodily harm and even more when you carry through with those threats," he added wiggling his eyebrows. "But more importantly I love you for you. The beautiful, intelligent, possibly deadly ninja that stole my heart the minute she walked into the squad room all those years ago."

Ziva smiled. "I know." She leaned in and kissed him. "I love you too…my little hairy butt." Their lips met again in a fury of passion, tongues battling and hands roaming. Their mixed voices filled the room with soft moans. Struck by a sudden idea, Tony jumped up from the couch and disappeared into the hallway. Ziva sat there completely stunned, unable to process what had happened before Tony returned carrying a small silver object in his hand.

"When did you find your iPod?" Ziva asked.

"A few days ago," he explained. "It was in my gym bag." He walked over to the entertainment system and grabbed the portable speakers Abby had given him as a Christmas present. He attached his iPod, scrolled through the playlists and chose his song. Softly the first notes of a mellow jazz hit filled the room. Crossing the distance to the couch he offered his hand to the Israeli sitting there. "Dance with me Zee-vah?"

"I would be delighted." The music played softly as the couple swayed in the middle of their living room. Ziva wrapped her arms around Tony's neck, his hands resting on her hips. She laid her head against his chest listening to the sound of his heartbeat in contrast to the beat of the music. Tony rested his head against hers, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"Tony," she said raising her head to look him in the eyes. "We're going to be okay, yes?"

"Of course, Sweet cheeks," he said with a grin. "We'll be just fine." He didn't know if it was the truth or not, but he felt as though it was what Zivawanted to hear. And if nothing else, he intended to give her what she wanted.

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**Remember: Reviews are love!! And they help persuade me to write faster. ;)**


	3. Caught in the Act

**Chapter 3: Caught in the Act  
****A/N: Okay so I randomly got hit with this idea while driving in the car with my mom. Random I know! This chapter is going to focus on Abby and McGee and their quasi-relationship. Also be warned that it's going to get a little steamy, but nothing past a PG-13 rating.  
Also the time line is a jumping around a bit. This story takes place about 10 months after the last one making Tali 22 months old.**

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"Ziva we'll be just fine, now hurry up before you miss your reservations." Abby said shoeing the couple out of her living room and into the hallway.

"Okay, we are leaving," Ziva said. "Goodbye tatelah," she kissed Tali's cheek, "we will pick you up later tonight."

"Later kiddo," Tony called pulling his girlfriend further down the hall. "Have a good night Abs." They disappeared down the hallway as Abby moved back into her apartment, locking the door behind her and returning to her living room.

"Okay Tali, what's on the agenda for tonight?" she asked moving over to the corner of her living room where she kept the girl's toys. "It's getting kind of late, how about a movie before bed? We can watch The Little Mermaid. I know how much you love that movie." She looked to the small girl trailing behind her for confirmation but all she got was a blank stare. Even though Tali was almost two years old she was a very quiet child. Once you got her to open up it was smooth sailing, but getting to that point often took a great amount of time. "The Little Mermaid it is."

Setting Tali up on the couch with her blanket, Abby made quick work of her movie collection, finding the movie and setting the DVD player up. She curled up on the couch next to her niece prepared to watch the movie when there was a knock at the door.

"I bet that's your mother come back to make sure you're okay," she told Tali with a smile. Checking the peephole, Abby opened the door with a surprised smile. "Timmy, I didn't know you were coming over tonight."

McGee stood in the doorway with a bottle of wine and a DVD in his hands. "Well I was bored and struggling with writer's block so I thought that maybe we could hang out. I brought your favorite wine and Donnie Darko."

"That's sweet Tim, but I've already got a guest over tonight," Abby said.

McGee's face fell instantly. "Oh I didn't know…umm…okay well I guess I'll come over some other time then." He turned to leave when he was attacked at the knees.

"Pobie!" Tali shouted wrapping her arms around his leg. Tali had taken a liking to the younger agent, always reaching for him no matter whose arms she was in originally. There were times she would even climb out of Ziva or Tony's grasp to snuggle up to McGee.

"Hey there Tali," McGee greeted the little girl. He suddenly looked up at Abby with a grin. "This is your guest?"

"Well yeah," she laughed. "Who did you think was here?" She took the wine and movie from him and allowed McGee to pick Tali up and bring her into the apartment. She set the movie on the coffee table before taking the wine into the kitchen and pouring two glasses. "Are you going to join us for movie night, Tim?" she asked handing him a glass of the red liquid.

"I guess so," he agreed taking a sip of his wine. "What are we watching?"

"The Little Mermaid," Abby supplied once again taking her seat on the couch leaning against the arm with Tali curled in front of her. McGee sat on the other end slowly sipping his wine and paying only half attention to the movie. He was more amused by Abby pointing out all the scientific inaccuracies than he was by the singing characters.

"How is it that all of Ariel's sisters have different colored fins? They all have the same father, so shouldn't they look alike? And exactly how is fin color determined? (A/N: I actually had this conversation with my roommate. We were VERY bored.)"

McGee laughed, leave it to Abby to psycho analyze a Disney movie. He glanced over at the screen as the music faded sparing a small laugh at the antics of the undersea creatures. When he looked back at his companions he noticed that Tali's eyes were quickly drooping. He knew she would be out cold in a matter of minutes. Abby didn't seem to notice this as she continued to talk.

"I used to think that Sebastian was British since he was a butler and for some reason that meant he was British in my mind," she laughed. "It wasn't until college that I realized that the accent was Jamaican. I couldn't fathom why a Jamaican crab was serving King Triton."

McGee laughed. It was things like this that made him love her even more. "Um Abby?"

"Don't even think of making fun of me for overanalyzing Disney movies. I have a degree in forensic science, I'm paid to think analytically."

"I wasn't going to say anything about your movie watching habits," McGee defended himself. "I was just going to point out that Tali is asleep and if you keep talking you're going to wake her up."

Looking down, Abby noticed that Tali's head had lolled to the side, her eyes were closed tightly, her thumb securely in her mouth. "She's so adorable," Abby whispered pushing a stray curl out of her face. "I still can't believe that Tony and Ziva made something so…"

"Perfect?" McGee finished. He was often in awe of Tali's innocence and simplicity; it reminded him how good life could be when you didn't get caught up in all the 'grown-up problems.' "Do you want me to put her to bed?"

"Sure," Abby whispered. "You can put her to sleep in my bed. Ziva and Tony will be back later tonight to pick her up." McGee picked up the small girl, careful not to wake her up, and took her into Abby's bedroom. Abby followed him in, making sure that there were enough pillows on the bed to keep her from rolling off and onto the floor.

Satisfied that she was safe, McGee returned to the kitchen taking a moment to refill their wine glasses while Abby went to the restroom. He brought the glasses into the living room and retook his seat on the couch. Abby returned a moment later, grabbing her wine glass off the table and taking a seat on the couch, this time much closer to Tim's side. The movie was still playing but neither was really paying attention to the TV.

McGee took a sip of his wine and draped his arm over the back of the Abby's shoulders pulling her body against his. "Been a pretty slow week at work," he said in a vain attempt to make conversation.

"It really has been," Abby agreed. A short, awkward silence followed until Abby took Tim's glass from his hands and placed it on the coffee table next to hers. Climbing to her knees she leaned toward Tim. "You didn't come here to chat about work did you?"

McGee blushed. "Umm...no. Not really."

"Then dispense with the pleasantries, Tim," she said grabbing his face and bringing their lips together. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders while McGee's settled on her hips. He pulled her body closer forcing her to straddle his legs. Abby sat back on his knees as she deepened the kiss, her fingers quickly setting to work on the buttons of his shirt.

"Mmm Abs," Tim groaned sliding his hands under her shirt, across the bare skin of her back. His fingers traced the outline of the tattoo by heart. "Abby we don't have a bed," he whispered.

"There's still the coffin," she suggested. Her lips moved from his mouth to his neck sucking on the skin there.

"No way," he said with a laugh. "I'm not having sex in the coffin again." His protest was cut short when Abby pulled his shirt to the side and attacked his nipples with her mouth. "Oh God Abs you're killing me."

Abby laughed mischievously, "That's kind of the point Timmy." She attacked his lips again but the moment was short lived as he flipped them so she was lying on the couch with him hovering above her. "What are you doing?"

"Taking charge," he pointed out, trailing his lips down her neck. He ran his hand up the side of her body, pushing her shirt along with it. Making quick work of the garment he pulled it over her head and tossed it aside revealing her naked torso underneath. "You are beautiful," he whispered bringing his lips back to hers.

"Abby?"

McGee and Abby froze, both afraid to look anywhere but at each other thinking that perhaps if they didn't acknowledge the voice it would mean that she wasn't actually there. That she hadn't actually caught them…in a rather compromising situation. McGee moved to sit up when Abby grabbed his arms to keep him where he was. He turned to her with a questioning look.

"If you get up I will be completely exposed," Abby hissed. "I don't think she needs those images in her head. Grab my shirt." He reached over to the coffee table where Abby's shirt had managed to land and grabbed the garment handing it to her. Somewhat awkwardly she struggled into it and pushed Tim back so they could both sit up.

"Hey sweetie what's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Thirsty," Tali responded rubbing her eyes.

"Okay we'll get you a drink." She stood from the couch and took the girl's hand leading her into the kitchen.

McGee sat on the couch watching the pair leave. It was then that he realized his shirt was hanging open exposing the marks that Abby left on his neck and chest. "Ziva's going to kill me," he groaned leaning his head back against the couch.

Abby managed to get Tali back to bed and rejoined McGee on the couch. "So," she said.

"They're going to kill us," he responded quickly.

"No one's going to kill us," Abby said. "It's not like she saw anything." McGee turned to her with an incredulous look. "Okay so she saw something, but Tim she doesn't know what she saw. She's not old enough to realize what was going on."

"It doesn't matter," he argued. "Ziva will know what happened. She's going to kill me."

Abby laughed. She shouldn't be getting so much enjoyment out of watching Tim suffer but she was. "Don't worry," she said leaning her head on his shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen."

NCIS

A few hours later, Abby and McGee were lying on the couch watching late night television when there was a knock at the door. Abby patted Tim's leg feeling his muscles tense at the prospect of the upcoming conversation and got up to answer the door. "Hey guys," she greeted her coworkers.

"Good evening Abby," Ziva said as she stepped inside the apartment. "Hello Tim."

"Probie," Tony questioned stepping in behind the Israeli, "when did you get here?"

"Uh a few hours ago," McGee answered looking to Abby.

"Is she sleeping?" Ziva asked taking a few steps toward Abby's bedroom.

"Yeah she's been out for about an hour and a half," Abby answered. "But uh, before you get her there's something I need to tell you."

Ziva turned on her heel, her face taking on a worried expression. "What happened?"

"N-nothing," McGee stuttered knowing that Ziva was thinking of the absolute worst scenario possible.

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be telling us about it," Tony countered.

"It's not what you're thinking," Abby said quickly. "She's fine, but she uh…she kind of…" She looked to McGee for help, who jumped up from the couch and came to stand behind her. "We were kind of…umm.."

_'Just bite the bullet Tim,'_ his mind cried. "She walked in on us…together." _'There. Just like a band-aid. Rip it off in one quick motion.'_

Ziva backtracked across the room and came to stand next to Tony so they could stare at the pair from a united front. Their combined gaze was enough to cause both the forensic specialist and the junior field agent to shrink back.

"Walked in on you?" Tony asked. "Like you two were…you were having sex?"

"No!" Abby was quick to defend their actions. "We were just messing around on the couch. She was supposed to be sleeping."

"So that made it okay to have sex while our daughter was in the next room?" Ziva asked.

"We weren't having sex," Tim reiterated. "We were just making out."

"What did she see then?" Ziva asked confused.

Abby blushed a little at the information she was about to divulge. "Tim was on top of me and my shirt may have been…elsewhere." McGee's face tinted to meet the shade of Abby's.

"So you flashed our two year old daughter?" Tony asked.

"I don't think she saw anything," Abby cringed. "We just wanted to let you know, in case she says anything."

A pregnant silence settled between the foursome, Abby and McGee waiting for the inevitable backlash while Tony and Ziva took a moment to process what they were being told. The silence stretched on until the sound of laughter broke its hold.

"What are you laughing at?" Ziva hissed at her partner.

"I'm sorry," Tony gasped between fits of chuckles. "I just can't imagine Probie having sex, nor do I want to. Tali's going to need counseling for years."

"Tony this is serious," Ziva admonished. "What if she asks us questions? What are we supposed to tell a 2-year-old?"

"Ziva do you really think she hasn't heard us at night?" Tony asked causing Ziva to blush slightly. "We all know how loud you can be." That statement earned him an elbow to the stomach while McGee and Abby tried to cover their smirks.

"Perhaps I overreacted," Ziva said.

"We're really sorry," Abby repeated, McGee nodding in agreement.

"It's all right," Tony said. He disappeared into Abby's bedroom and returned a moment later, a sleeping Tali in his arms, her thumb in her mouth and her face hidden in the crook of his neck.

Abby gathered the few items that Ziva brought and handed the bag to the Israeli. "Thanks again for babysitting."

"You know she's welcome here anytime," Abby said. "I love having her over. And I promise next time we'll be on our best behavior. Scout's honor."

"Leila tov," Ziva smiled before exiting the apartment Tony in tow.

"One quick thing Probie," he said over his shoulder.

"Yeah Tony?"

"Next time, keep it in your pants."**

* * *

**

**I figured Tony deserved the last word in this one. I found it really easy to write the scenes between McGee and Abby, perhaps I should broaden my horizons and try some McAbby pieces. Hmm…**


	4. Remember When

**Chapter 4: Remembering When  
****A/N: So I realize that when I started this story I pulled a Star Wars (started in the middle) so I'm going to try to bring the past back. And I apologize if any of the military ranks are out of order or otherwise screwed up.**

* * *

"DiNozzo!"

Tony snapped to attention, literally jumping up from his desk. "Ran the background check on our victim Petty Officer Owens. Married once, divorced two years later. Currently single. Sister lives in Colorado, brother in Virginia, both parents are deceased."

"Talked to his C.O. a Lieutenant Murren," Ziva picked up the train of thought. "Said that Owens was a model sailor but kept to himself most of the time. No outstanding recognitions or citations."

Gibbs sighed from behind his desk. "McGee please tell me you've got something to explain why someone wanted this guy dead."

"Credit cards show no suspicious activity, only $800 in his checking account, no outstanding debts," McGee concluded. "Sorry boss."

"Don't apologize," Gibbs growled. "Go and help Abby with Owens' computer. There has to be something somewhere." Without another word he left the bullpen and climbed the stairs to MTAC. In the next second McGee was gone leaving Tony and Ziva alone.

Tony grinned at his partner over his computer. Ziva felt his eyes on her and without looking up addressed him. "Something wrong Tony?"

"Just thinking," he smirked.

"That can be very dangerous," Ziva laughed. She didn't look up but she knew the exact look on his face. "What are you think about Tony?"

"Another time that we were alone like this."

_Ziva slammed her desk drawer shut and cursed in Hebrew._

_"A little testy today?" Tony asked._

_Ziva shot a glare at him. "I am fine."_

_Sighing he stood from his desk and crossed over to hers taking a seat on the edge. "C'mon Zee you've been moody all week. You yelled at McGee the other day and you've barely said a word to me in the last few days." He waited until she looked up at him before continuing. "Is this about the other night? Look I told you I wanted to come over but I didn't leave here until __midnight__."_

_"It is not about that," she said. "I need to talk to you."_

_"So talk."_

_She looked around. "Not here."_

_"Gibbs's office?"_

_"Too conspicuous." She looked around tapping her pen against her desk. "Follow me." Ziva rose from her desk and not looking to see if Tony was following walked into the men's room. Luckily it was unoccupied, not that this would have bothered her. Once Tony was in she locked the door and stood facing it for a moment._

_"You know we really need to find a new place to meet," Tony joked. "This is not sanitary at all."_

_"I am pregnant Tony," Ziva said finally turning around to face him. Tony didn't speak for over a minute, instead choosing to stare at her blankly. "Please say something," she asked._

_"How? When? I mean I know how, but…how?" he stuttered. "We were careful, right?"_

_"Apparently birth control is not 100% trick-proof."_

_Tony stared at her blankly. "Fool-proof Ziva. I just don't understand how this happened. You're on the pill right?"_

_"Yes Tony." _

_"Are you sure?"_

_"My doctor confirmed it on Tuesday." She watched as he paced around the room, his hands scrubbing over his face and hair._

_"How far along?"_

_Ziva took a deep breath. "Six weeks."_

_" Gibbs is going to kill us," he moaned._

_Ziva laughed, the first honest laugh she'd had since she had learned of her 'situation' nearly two weeks ago._

_"What are you laughing at?"_

_"That was my first thought as well," she said. Tony smiled and silence descended upon them both. "What do we do now?"_

"You know I can still feel the stinging on the back of my head from where Gibbs hit me," he laughed. "I think he hit me extra hard for both of us."

"Well he wouldn't dare hit a pregnant woman," Ziva laughed.

"I've never been that scared in my entire life," he said with a hint of embarrassment. "It's like the first time being sent to the principal's office."

Ziva looked at him astonished. "Never been that scared?"

"Up until that point at least."

_"All right Miss David I'm going to need you to start pushing," the doctor said._

_"DA-VEED," Ziva growled, leaning forward and pushing with all her strength. She counted to ten in her head before falling back against the pillows, sweat rolling off her forehead._

_"You're doing great Sweetcheeks," Tony coached._

_"Shut up!"she screamed. "Once this is over I will personally perform your vasectomy!"_

_The nurses in the room looked at Tony with a worried expression. "She's just kidding."_

_"I am not kidding," she said after another round of pushing. "I hate you right now. I should let Abby kill you without leaving any—"_

_"Any forensic evidence," Tony finished. "C'mon Zee you're almost done. Just a few more pushes baby." Ziva gathered what little strength she had left and pushed praying that it would be enough. A few moments of mind numbing pain and immense pressure and the sweet sounds of crying filled the room. Ziva collapsed back against the bed exhausted but entirely happy._

_"Congratulations," the doctor said with a smile. "It's a beautiful baby girl. Would you like to cut the cord?"_

_Tony took the scissors from the doctor and cut the umbilical cord before quickly returning to the top of the bed. "She's beautiful Zee," he said kissing her forehead._

_"I want to see her," she said._

_"They're just getting her cleaned up," he told her. "They'll bring her over in a second." True to his word, one of the nurses joined them a few seconds later with a small pink bundle in her arms. She handed the baby to Tony and left, leaving the new parents alone with their daughter._

_"She looks just like her mother," Tony said sliding the baby into Ziva's arms. "Beautiful."_

"She looks more like you every day," he smiled.

"And she acts more like you," Ziva countered.

"Well she is daddy's little girl."

_"Please stop crying Tali," Ziva pleaded. It was nearly __3 a.m.__ and she'd had less than two hours sleep that night. Tali was not happy and therefore decided that no one else should be either. "I don't know what you want."_

_Tony groaned and rolled over. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with her crying this hard. Climbing out of bed he crossed the hall into the spare bedroom that had been converted into a nursery. "Want me to try?"_

_Ziva looked at him with desperation in her eyes. "I do not know what to do," she cried. "She's been fed and changed and I have no idea what else she needs."_

_Tony held out his hands and took the screaming infant from her mother. "Go to bed Zee."_

_"I won't be able to sleep."_

_"You can at least try." Too tired to argue Ziva dragged her feet across the hallway and fell into bed._

_Tony stood in the nursery holding Tali against his bare chest. "Shh," he tried to coo but she was having none of it. "C'mon sweetie mommy and daddy need their sleep. Gibbs doesn't care if we're sleep deprived." The words did little to calm Tali as her cries rose in volume. Wracking his brain for any possible solutions, he came up with only one. "Please let this work," he prayed._

_"I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May." His singing was off-key and the tempo was a little off beat but his soul was in it. "I guess you'd say what can make me feel this way? My girl. Talkin' bout my girl, my girl." Listening to the melody in his head Tony began to dance around the room slowly. Tali's cries softened with each word and step. Her hysterical bawling turned into soft whimpering and finally ceased all together. Looking down he was astonished to see her eyes firmly closed, her small chest rising in a long, even rhythm._

_"That's my girl."_

"Well this has been a nice little trip down memory road," Ziva smiled bringing her focus back to her computer.

"Memory lane."

"Whatever. If we do not make some progress on this case Gibbs will fire us and we will be living on the street."

"She's right, DiNozzo!" Gibbs bellowed from the catwalk. "Find me anything yet?"

"Not yet boss," Tony snapped back to work. As his eyes filtered across his computer screen he couldn't help but catch sight of the picture on his desk. It had been taken the day after Tali was born.

_"Where is my niece?" Abby squealed as she came bounding into the hospital room, a bouquet of balloons in one hand and her camera in the other._

_Ziva smiled from her position on the bed. She hadn't been allowed out of bed since she'd given birth and she was literally itching to get up and moving. "Tony is getting her from the nursery. He should be back any moment."_

_"Did you pick a name yet?" Gibbs asked._

_"We did," Ziva said with a smile. "I will let Tony tell you when he gets back."_

_"He's back," Tony announced. Abby spun around and covered her mouth in awe._

_"Tony she's adorable," she cooed. "Can I hold her?" The tiny bundle was handed over to her aunt who doted on her endlessly._

_Tony came around the bed and took a seat next to Ziva. Leaning over he kissed her temple, "I have never seen you look so beautiful."_

_"Flattery will get you nowhere," she said with a smirk._

_After much prodding Abby handed the baby over to Gibbs. "You're quite the lucky child," he told her._

_"Why is that?" Ziva asked._

_Gibbs smiled wryly. "Because she got your looks, Ziva."_

_"Hey!" Tony shot back._

_"What did you name her?" Gibbs asked handing the baby back to her mother. Ziva brought Tali to rest against her chest letting the baby suck on her fingertip._

_"Her name is Natalie Rebecca DiNozzo-David," Tony said proudly._

_"That's beautiful," Abby gushed._

_"It's a mouthful," Gibbs added._

_"Which is why we will be calling her Tali for short." Ziva didn't look up as she spoke, her eyes locking into Tali's. Tony sat looking over her shoulder, gazing down at the little miracle in her arms. That's when Abby snapped the picture; a perfect family portrait._

_

* * *

_

**Hope you followed all those flashbacks! Review!!**


	5. Bob

**Glimpses of Us  
****A/N: All right, so I know it's been a while and I must apologize. I have been letting school run my life, I am a terrible writer lol. I would like to promise that it won't happen again, but we all know that would be a lie. I can however promise random updates when the urge hits. Like now…  
****Disclaimer: The only character mentioned below that I own is Tali.**

* * *

"Jen I cannot take it any longer," Ziva growled into the phone. She was pacing the area of she and Tony's bedroom while running her hand across the creases in her forehead. "I am about five minutes from a complete mental breakdown."

On the other end of the line Jennifer Shepherd covered her mouth to muffle the laughter. She could clearly picture the amused look on Tony's face and the irritated look on Ziva's. It was quite comical. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's the same thing day in and day out. The incessant rambling, the stupid jokes and that horrid laughter! I am this close to taking out my knife and—"

"Okay. Ziva, you need to calm down," Jen interrupted her.

Ziva took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I did not know a sponge could be so…annoying!"

Again Jenny laughed. "I told Abby not to buy those DVDs," she mused. "Listen, why don't I take Tali tomorrow night? You and Tony can go out to dinner and see a movie. Maybe even one without talking animals."

Ziva considered it. It had been a while since she and Tony had an evening to themselves. They had made plans two weeks ago, but those had been interrupted by a dead Lieutenant. That seemed to happen a lot these days. The nerve of some people! Why couldn't murderers keep banker's hours?

"Can you promise me that we won't get called into work?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

On the other end Jenny laughed. "Your team isn't on call this weekend right?"

"No."

"Well then you should be okay."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "That's never stopped them before. We always seem to get called out when we're supposed to be off."

Jenny thought for a moment. She knew there was no way to guarantee that Gibbs's team wouldn't be called out, since of course they were the Major Case Response Team. But she knew she could pull a few strings to lessen the chances of that happening. "Don't worry about it, Ziva. Just drop Tali off at my house tomorrow."

Ziva let out a content sigh. "Thank you so much, Jen. We will see you tomorrow. Is six okay?"

"Six is perfect."

NCIS

"Are you sure you don't mind watching her?" Ziva asked. She and Jen stood in the foyer of Director Shepard's townhouse. The Israeli had arrived only moments ago, but Tali had made quick work of dropping her jacket by the door and disappearing into Jen's living room. A cautious peak into the room revealed the two year old sitting on the couch looking through her favorite picture book.

"I don't mind at all," Jen said. "She's already made herself at home. We'll be perfectly fine tonight."

Ziva handed over Tali's overnight bag and stepped into the living room. "Tatelah, can I have a kiss? I will see you tomorrow. Aunt Jenny is going to bring you to Rease's." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tali's forehead.

"Pancakes?" Tali asked, excited at having heard the name of their well frequented diner. According to Tony they made the best breakfast in the Tri-State area, thus making it a staple in their lives. Tony, Ziva and Tali were there at least every other week.

"Yes we will get pancakes tomorrow," Ziva assured her, "but only if you are good for Aunt Jenny." Tali nodded her head enthusiastically and returned to her book.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Jenny asked, leading Ziva to the door.

"Absolutely nothing," Ziva said. She stepped over the threshold and turned to look at her friend. "We are locking the doors, unplugging the phones, and turning off our cells. There will be absolutely no interruptions."

Jen laughed. "Point taken. I will be sure not to call you." The women exchanged goodbyes before Jen shut the door and locked it. She entered the living room and took a seat next to Tali on the sofa. It amazed her the way the girl's attention could be so easily captured by the simplest thing. The way her eyes scanned the page before turning it, would allow one to assume that she was reading the story that went along with the pictures.

Soon Tali slammed the book and looked at her caretaker for the evening. "Done," she announced with a smile.

Jenny laughed and wrapped her arm around the little girl's shoulder. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Nugs?" Tali asked excitedly.

Jenny smiled. "I'm sure I have some chicken nuggets in the freezer. Think we can get some vegetables in there too?"

Tali grimaced. "No greenies!"

"No nuggs unless you eat greenies too." Immediately Tali's lower lip poked out. "Don't even try that with me. I know all of your tricks Miss Natalie." Director Shepard leaned over her and tapped her nose before disappearing to prepare their dinner.

NCIS

"I cannot believe you are watching that," Ziva groaned staring at the television. She stood behind the couch, bent at the waist, her arms draped over Tony's shoulders.

Tony tilted his head sideways silently asking for a kiss which Ziva was all too willing to grant him. When they parted, Tony patted the seat next to him.

"Why do you watch this show?" Ziva asked.

Tony laugh. "The same reason I watch Intervention. This makes me feel better about my life." They both turned their attention to the television until Ziva could no longer take it.

"These girls are absolutely insane! She thinks that labor will be 'whatever,'" Ziva ranted, her hands whipping through the air.

"Yeah well she's like fifteen like," Tony argued doing what could only be deemed as a 'Valley Girl' impression.

"She should not be having sex at fifteen. Where are the parents?"

Tony laughed. "Good question. Speaking of, where is our little bundle of joy?"

"With the Director."

"Okay….why is she with Jenny?" Instead of answering him Ziva climbed to her knees, straddled Tony's lap and kissed him hungrily. Her tongue pressed against his lips begging for entrance; Tony's hands gripped her waist his fingers toying with the hem of her shirt. Eventually their lips parted, but their foreheads remained touching.

"Oh," he breathed pressing his lips to hers quickly. "So what are you doing tonight?" Tony asked in what Ziva had termed his 'sexy voice.'

She grinned devilishly before leaning forward and whispering in his ear, "you."

NCIS

"I still see greenies on that plate," Jen said tapping the corner of Tali's plate.

"I don't like greenies," Tali grumbled. She poked at the green beans with her little fork, managing to shove a few of them off the plate and onto the table.

"That's not going to make them go away." Jenny picked up the green beans and put them back on her niece's plate. "How about this: if you make all the greenies go away, we'll watch some SpongeBob."

Immediately Tali perked up. "Bob?"

"If you make the green beans disappear." Jen watched silently as Tali slowly picked up a green bean and began to chew on it. One disappeared and then another. Before long, Tali was holding the plate in front of her face.

"All done!"

Jenny took the plate from her and set it in the sink; she would take care of it later.

"We watch Bob now?" Tali asked.

"Sure," Jen laughed. "We can watch a little SpongeBob before bed." Tali skipped over to the sink, grabbed Jenny's hand and pulled her aunt toward the living room shouting "Bob" the whole way.

'_At least I have a bargaining tool,'_ Jen thought. She turned to TV on, flipped through the channels. According to Ziva, 'that stupid sponge is on every channel, every second of every day' so she figured there was a pretty good chance that she would find it already on. If that failed, there were bound to be a few DVDs packed away in Tali's overnight bag. It was doubtful the little girl would go anywhere without them.

"Pineapple unda da sea, SpongeBob Squarepants!" Tali sung along loudly, bouncing on her seat. Jenny smiled and settled in next to her. She didn't know why Ziva complained about the cartoon. Sure it was a little annoying, but if it kept Tali occupied and happy she could live with it.

NCIS

Tony collapsed on the bed, breathing heavy with an enormous grin on his face. Next to him Ziva lay panting as well, her hair fanning out around her head on the pillow.

"Remind me…to thank the director…on Monday," Tony gasped.

Ziva laughed, leaning up to kiss his lips but pulling away before they became too enthralled.

"So tell me, my ninja," Tony began. "What did I do to deserve this wonderful, if unexpected, treat?"

"We haven't had nearly enough time together," Ziva explained.

"I'm with you nearly 24 hours a day. Not that I'm complaining."

"I meant time alone. We are constantly around other people. If we are not at work, we are home with Tali."

Tony smiled and kissed her again. "Not that I don't love our daughter, but it is nice to pass her off every now and then."

"It is," she echoed. A comfortable silence settled as the pair stared at the ceiling not really seeing the white plaster. "I never thought I would be here," Ziva confessed.

"Where? Naked and in my bed?" Tony joked.

"Our bed," Ziva smiled. "And no, that was inevitable."

"I thought you said nothing was inevitable."

"I meant that I never pictured my future like this," she clarified, choosing to ignore his previous comment. "I always thought I would be Mossad until the day I died, and I figured I would die young. Most of the good operatives do."

Tony grimaced at hearing her talk about death so easily. "Thank God we got you out of there then."

Again Ziva smiled. "And now I am a full NCIS agent, surrounding by wonderful people, a beautiful daughter—"

"A loving fiancée," Tony added.

Ziva propped herself up on her right arm and looked him. "Tony you are not my fiancée, unless I have misunderstood the meaning of that word, which is highly unlikely."

"Yeah about that," Tony grabbed Ziva's hand and slid a ring onto her finger. "Marry me?"

NCIS

Jenny was wrong. She was so incredibly wrong, and she could admit that. After only an hour of watching that ridiculous cartoon she was personally advocating genocide of all sea sponges.

"Are you sure you don't want to watch something else?" she suggested hoping to God that she could convince the stubborn two-year old.

"No. Bob," Tali responded adamantly.

"Okay," Jen sighed. She pulled another case file out of her briefcase in an attempt to distract herself. Even reading security briefings could not fully distract her from the incessant laughing on the television. Thankfully Tali's bed time was fast approaching and Jenny would no longer have to suffer.

"More Bob?" Tali asked.

Jenny looked up to see the show's credits rolling. She let out a sigh of relief reading the advertisement at the bottom alerting her that another show was up next. "No more Bob," she said. "I guess Bob's done for the night."

Without a word Tali ran over to her bag at the bottom of the stairs and began to root through it. Jenny knew she was looking for her SpongeBob DVDs, but thankfully she had thought ahead and taken them out and stashed them in her office. It might be mean, but she was merely trying to avoid a mental breakdown.

"How about we watch a movie?" she suggested. Luckily Ziva had thought ahead enough to put some non-SpongeBob DVDs in the bag as well. "Bring your bag over here."

Tali lugged the bag as though it weighed a hundred pounds over to the couch and dropped it at Jenny's feet.

"How about Aladdin?" Jenny prodded. Tali nodded her head in acquiescence and climbed back on the couch. With a satisfied smirk she inserted the DVD and took a seat on the couch.

"Ima!" Tali shouted when Princess Jasmine appeared on the screen.

Jenny chuckled. "I guess she kind of looks like your mother." There was the olive skin, long, dark hair and big brown eyes that were somewhat reminiscent of Ziva. That was enough for Tali to draw the connection.

"Where's Ima?" Tali asked. She curled farther into Jenny's side, yawning quietly.

"Ima is at home with Daddy tonight," Jenny explained. _'Probably making you a sibling.'_

Tali seemed to think about this for a moment. "I stay here tonight?"

Jenny nodded. "Yes you are going to stay with me tonight. Then we'll meet mommy and daddy tomorrow for breakfast."

"For pancakes!"

"Yes, for the best pancakes in town." They watched the rest of the movie in relative silence, interrupted only by spurts of laughter and the occasional question. By the time the end credits were rolling, Tali was curled tightly into Jenny's side, her thumb securely in her mouth, and eyes drooping. "C'mon Tali," Jenny whispered shifting the nearly sleeping girl into her arms, "let's get you to bed."

NCIS

Ziva threw her head back, a guttural moan erupting from her throat before she collapsed against Tony's chest. Her body rose and fell with his shallow breaths as he struggled to regain a normal breathing regime.

"Amazing," Ziva gasped.

Tony nodded in agreement. They laid like that for a few minutes until they were able to level out their breathing. Tony traced idle patters on Ziva's shoulder blade in a post-euphoric bliss. "Ziva?"

"Hmm?" Her head rested against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart as it sang her a comforting lullaby.

"Was that a yes?"

NCIS

Their table was literally filled with plates containing every sort of breakfast food known to mankind: pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon, 3 different kinds of eggs, toast, and even a plate of donuts for dessert. Tali's eyes were bigger than her stomach as she attempted to shovel as much food as possible into her tiny mouth. Across the table, Tony was mimicking her actions.

"So did you have fun with Aunt Jenny?" Ziva asked taking a careful bite of her French toast. Tali nodded her head furiously and attempted to speak around a mouthful of pancakes.

"Watched…Al-Aladdin."

"Don't talk with your mouth full Tatelah," Ziva said.

Tali chewed and swallowed before mumbling, "Sorry."

They passed the next hour with plenty of food, smiles, and laughter. Afterwards Tony paid their bill, grabbed Tali's bag, and met the women outside. He grabbed his daughter around the waist and swung her in the air, laughing as Tali's squeals reached his ears. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly as Tony finally settled her against his hip. "I missed you, Princess."

"Miss you too, daddy!" Tali said planting a kiss on his cheek.

Tony looked to Ziva and Jenny. "I'm gonna take her to the car. Thanks again, Director."

"You're welcome, Tony." Jenny watched as Tony took off for the car, bouncing Tali wildly on his hip.

"Well I guess we will see you at work on Monday," Ziva said. "Thank you again, Jen."

"You're welcome, Ziva," she grinned. "By the way, congratulations." At Ziva's quizzical look, Jenny took her left hand and tapped the silver-banded ring on her fourth finger.

"Oh that," Ziva said fighting the slight blush that tinted her cheeks. "I know there are rules about spouses being on the same team, but—"

Jenny raised a hand to stop her. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now just enjoy your family."

Ziva spared a glance over her shoulder where Tony was buckling Tali into her car seat laughing at God only knows what. She felt the smile begin and grow until it threatened to touch her ears. A warm feeling spread through her chest at the sight. "I will."

* * *

**I have to thank my nephews for the inspiration for this chapter. After 4 straight hours of watching a certain yellow sponge I was ready to start shooting endangered species. (Disclaimer: I do not advocate shooting animals…of any kind.)**


	6. Sick

**Glimpses of Us  
****A/N: I don't claim to be a medical professional. That being said, anything in this chapter that seems a little off, I apologize. Enojy!**

* * *

"Ducky!"

Dr. Mallard's head snapped up as Special Agent Timothy McGee came rushing into autopsy, the limp body of Tali in his arms. Immediately Ducky was on his feet meeting Tim halfway and pointing him to the nearest table. "Good Lord Timothy, what happened?"

"I don't know," McGee rushed. "She was sitting at Tony's desk coloring and then she just fell to the ground. I think she hit her head too." He gently laid the little girl on one of the autopsy tables, choosing not to think about the table's previous occupant.

Ducky took up position next to the child and immediately felt for a pulse. He easily found one, breathing a sigh of relief. "Her pulse is regular, but her breathing is a little shallower than I would like."

"What do we do?" McGee asked panicking.

"Where are Anthony and Ziva?" Ducky asked.

"They're out talking to a witness. Tali's babysitter cancelled today, I guess she's sick now. Gibbs wanted them to get a statement before they left for the day." McGee rubbed a hand over his face, his eyes never leaving the little girl in front of him. "Ducky, what's wrong with her?"

Ducky nodded and grabbed his hat and coat. "We need to take her to the emergency room. We can't be too careful. I'll drive."

McGee picked Tali up and cradled her against his body as he followed Ducky out of the building and to the Scotsman's car. He sat in the back still clutching Tali and praying for her to wake up. As they pulled into the emergency drop-off at Bethesda, Ducky instructed Timothy to take her in while he parked the car.

The minute Tim stepped through the automatic doors all eyes were on him. "I need help here!"

"What happened?" a doctor asked. He motioned for a gurney which McGee reluctantly placed Tali on. He immediately began checking her vitals while tuning one ear to McGee's recount of the events. "Take her into ER 3," the doctor ordered. "Are you her father?"

"Huh? No," McGee stumbled. "I'm her uncle. Her parents are out in the field."

"Has she been sick recently?"

"Umm," he searched his memory. "Yeah, about a week ago. She was throwing up for a day or two."

"Allergic to any medication?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Thank you. Have a seat, we'll keep you updated." The doctor spoke quickly with a nurse before disappearing behind the privacy curtain.

McGee dropped into a hard plastic chair and sucked in a breath. How had this happened? She was perfectly fine, just sitting there and then…God this was screwed up. A few seconds later Ducky rounded the corner and took a seat next to Tim.

"Timothy, how is she?"

"I don't know. They took her behind the curtain. They haven't said anything yet."

Reluctantly Ducky stood. "I'll see if I can surmise anything of her condition. You should call Tony and Ziva."

If possible McGee paled even more. Why hadn't he thought to call them in the first place? Their child was lying in a hospital, they should probably be aware of that. Ripping his phone from his pocket, McGee hit speed dial #3 and pressed send.

**NCIS**

Tony felt his pocket begin to vibrate as he and Ziva were seated in Mrs. Stallor's living room listening to her recount yesterday's events that led up to her finding her neighbor's house broken in to and Corporal O'Malley missing. He excused himself quickly and stepped into the hallway to answer the call. "Yes, McGoo?"

"Tony…"

There was a long pause in which neither party spoke.

"Okay maybe you're not familiar with this phone thing," Tony joked. "The idea is that you dial a number, that person picks up and then you're—"

"Tali's in the hospital," Tim blurted. Again there was a long silence before Tony's harsh whisper broke it.

"What do you mean she's in the hospital? What the hell happened McGee?"

"Nothing! I mean I don't know what happened." Tim took a deep breath and recounted the story again. "Tony, I'm sorry. She was fine and then she…just…"

"Okay," DiNozzo breathed trying to calm his nerves. That was easier said than done when your little girl was lying in a hospital and you had absolutely no idea why. "We're leaving now. We'll be there ASAP." He snapped his phone shut, turned on his heel, and entered the living room. Tony grabbed Ziva's elbow and unceremoniously hauled her from the couch. "I'm sorry Mrs. Stallor, we've got an emergency to attend to. Thank you for your help. We'll be in touch if we need anything else."

"Sure, anytime." The older woman barely had a chance to respond before the two agents were out of her house and making their way to the blue sedan parked out front.

"Tony, what is wrong?" Ziva asked, sliding into the passenger seat. She was barely able to get her seatbelt on before her fiancé was tearing out onto the road. He hung a hard right nearly setting the car onto two wheels. "Tony."

"McGee called," he offered as if it explained everything.

"And?" Another quick turn and they were on the highway where Tony proceeded to drift between lanes at speeds that would have made Ziva proud if she wasn't so scared.

"We need to get to Bethesda." He was avoiding telling Ziva exactly what was wrong until absolutely necessary, like maybe when they pulled into the parking lot.

The word 'Bethesda' set off alarm bells in Ziva's head. "Tony, if you do not tell me what is wrong right now I swear that I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable." She was hoping the threat would at least pull a small smile to his lips, but nothing happened. "Tony, who is it? At least tell me that." She was expecting 'Boss' or even 'Abby' to fall from his lips. The reality was much worse.

"Tali."

**NCIS**

"Are you Tali DiNozzo's parents?"

Ziva and Tony jumped up, closing the distance to the doctor in a few quick strides. "Yes. How is she?"

"Can we see her?" Ziva asked.

"She ha s fallen asleep. Tali's blood sugar dropped unexpectedly which caused her to lose consciousness," he explained. "Agent McGee told me that she had been sick recently?"

Ziva nodded. "She was ill for a few days, throwing up and running a slight fever."

"And when did the fever break?"

Ziva looked to Tony. "Yesterday afternoon. She seemed much better last night when we put her to bed, and this morning."

The doctor nodded, making a few notes on Tali's chart. "I believe the last few days ran a number on her body. With the vomiting and fever, her body was being deprived of essential nutrients."

"We made sure she was drinking that special juice," Ziva offered. "Isn't that supposed to help?"

"Pedialite? Yes, that is a good measure to take. That's probably why she did held out so long."

Tony glanced between Ziva and the doctor. "So what exactly happened here, Doc?"

"Basically your daughter was dehydrated. Her blood sugar dropped suddenly which caused the fainting episode. Agent McGee informed us that she hit her head when she fell as well. We've checked her for a concussion, but everything appears fine."

"Good, good," Tony let out a breath and stood with his hands on his hips. The tension was slowly leaving his body, but he knew they weren't in the clear just yet.

"When can we take her home?" Ziva asked. She had begun to wring her hands, a nervous tendency that she had picked up since she was pregnant.

"Like I said she's sleeping. We've got fluids running through an IV," the doctor explained. "She will probably be out of it for a while. Once she wakes up I will take a look at her and let you take her home. It shouldn't be more than a few hours."

Ziva let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Doctor." She stepped passed him and entered the room she had seen him depart earlier. The lights were dimmed allowing the little girl on the bed to sleep soundly. Ziva stepped over the threshold and stopped immediately. She looked so small and helpless lying in that bed, an IV running into her arm, her hair fanned out wildly against the white sheets. Ziva's lip trembled as she held back the tears that threatened to fall. "Oh Natalie," she whispered. A lone tear slid down her cheek which Ziva didn't even bother brushing away.

"I know Zi," Tony breathed sliding his arms around her waist from behind.

"She looks so…"

"Small," he supplied.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Ziva spoke. "How could we have let this happen? Are we bad parents?"

"No," Tony said. He grabbed Ziva's shoulder and turned her to look at him. "Zi, we are not bad parents. You heard the doctor, this happened because she was sick. We didn't do anything wrong."

"We should have known she was still sick. We—"

"No," Tony repeated. "You can drive yourself crazy thinking of things we **could** have done, but it won't change anything." He pulled Ziva against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder as a few more tears slid down her cheeks. "We're going to take her home when she wakes up. I'll tell Gibbs we won't be in tomorrow, though I'm sure he'd head slap us into next month if we showed up anyhow." Ziva laughed softly against him sending vibrations through his chest. "We're going to spend the long weekend watching over her and making sure she's all right. Everything is going to be fine."

Ziva nodded. "I know it will be, I just…"

Tony leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "You're scared. So am I, but everything is going to be fine." He rubbed his hands up and down her back in an attempt to soothe the tension from her muscles. It was difficult to do when he was also feeling the strain of the day's events. "I'm going to tell McGee to head home. I'll call Gibbs too." He placed a kiss on her forehead and left the room.

Ziva took a few steps toward the bed and dropped into the overstuffed chair. She leaned forward, her forearms resting on the mattress, and grabbed Tali's hand that wasn't hooked up to the IV drip. Her long fingers wrapped around the girl's slender wrist, feeling her pulse beat strong against her fingertips. It was a soothing rhythm that lulled Ziva into a greater sense of calm. "I love you, my little Angel."

* * *

**Not entirely thrilled with the ending, but it'll do. Let me know what you guys thought.**


	7. FatherDaughter Dance

**A/N: I guess I can only watch 'What a Girl Wants' so many times before my muse strikes. Again I'm jumping ahead in the timeline.**

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd please clear the dance floor, the bride would like to share a special dance with her father." Those in attendance applauded as Meghan and her father stepped onto the floor. The lights dimmed as Mr. Parek spun his daughter into his arms and began to sway softly.

"Meghan looks pretty," Tali gushed. The five year old sat next to her mother shoveling spoonfuls of wedding cake into her mouth while trying to avoid getting it on her new dress. She was so happy to see her babysitter all dressed up, even if she didn't understand what all the fuss was about. All she knew was Meghan's dress was really pretty and there was plenty of cake here. She liked it here.

"Yes she does," Ziva agreed. She couldn't help but flash back to her own wedding nearly a year ago when Gibbs had spun her around the floor for her own father-daughter dance. Sure he wasn't her biological father, but Ziva had come to realize in her life that DNA wasn't everything. Eli had not even been invited to the wedding.

"You know she's never going to sleep tonight," Tony laughed as he watched his daughter consume amounts of sugar that would put Abby to shame. "She might not even sleep this week if this keeps up." Ziva laughed as she scooped up the last bit of cake off her daughter's plate and popped it into her own mouth.

"Hey!" Tali protested.

"You have had enough, Tatelah," Ziva said pushing the plate toward Tony who quickly grabbed it and tossed it in a nearby garbage can.

"That cake was really good!"

Tony laughed sharing a look with Ziva before turning his attention to the dance floor. He noticed that a few other father and daughter pairs had joined in on the dance. Climbing to his feet Tony bowed at the waist and extended his hand toward Tali. "May I have this dance, Miss Natalie?"

Tali giggled. "You may good sir," she said quoting one of the movies she watched with her father.

Ziva laughed at her daughter's antics as she watched Tony lead her to the dance floor. It took a few moments for Tali to get comfortable standing on his feet before they began shuffling to the music. Ziva watched, blinking away the sudden moisture in her eyes. Tony looked absolutely dashing in his crisp black suit and ice blue tie that matched Tali's dress almost as if on purpose. A laugh erupted from the man in question causing Ziva to refocus her attention. Tali's face mirrored the smile on Tony's, dispelling any doubt about parentage as their smiles were exact were exact copies. Those two were far more alike than either would ever admit. It was not a strange occurrence for Ziva to find both Tony and Tali sleeping on the couch with a black and white movie still running on the television. One night Ziva had seized the opportunity to create a Fuji moment…or whatever that saying was. The picture now sat proudly on her desk at work.

The song ended allowing Tony and Tali to return to their seats. "Did you see us dancing, mommy? I had to stand on daddy's feet so we could dance together."

"I did," Ziva exclaimed. "You were wonderful. Very graceful."

Tony smiled as he draped an arm over his wife's chair. "She's heavier than she looks. I think my big toe may have actually separated from my foot."

Ziva slapped Tony's leg playfully. "Stop being so overdramatic."

"Overdramatic? Me?" Tony asked with feigned shock. Ziva merely smiled and squeezed his thigh lightly.

"There's my favorite little ninja!"

Tali's head whipped around, her curls flying in all directions. "Meggie!"

The bride took a seat next to the little girl, carefully controlling the large body of her dress. "How are you doing squirt?"

"I'm good," Tali answered staring up at her babysitter. "You look like a princess!"

Meghan laughed and ran a hand over Tali's hair. "Thank you, Tali. You look very pretty too."

"You look absolutely stunning, Meghan."

"Thanks Ziva. I will be so happy to get this dress off though. I swear it weighs at least twenty pounds!"

Ziva laughed remembering how anxious she was to get out of her dress and heels on she and Tony's wedding day. Of course, there were other factors contributing to her haste. "Where is your new husband?"

"I believe my brother dragged him over to the bar," she said craning her neck to search the crowd for her betrothed. "Yep, he's a goner for sure."

The strains of a new song began and immediately Tony's eyes lit up. "It's old Blue Eyes!" he said excitedly grabbing Ziva's hand. "Can a guy get a dance with his beautiful wife?" Ziva smiled and stood from her seat.

"What about me?" Tali asked, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

"You can sit with me, Princess," Meghan said. "Go ahead."

Tony led Ziva to the dance floor, settling his hands on her hips and hers wrapped around his neck. They danced to the smooth beat as Tony sang along. "Yes. You're lovely with your smile so warm. And your cheeks so soft," he ran a finger down her cheek, "There is nothing for me but to love you and the way you look tonight."

Ziva kissed his cheek softly. "I love you."

"I love you too Zee." Their dance continued in silence with only Tony humming along to the song. It was only moments before he finally spoke. "I was thinking…"

"Always a scary premise."

"…and I think we should have another baby."

Immediately Ziva's movement stopped. She leaned back slightly to stare into his eyes. "You want to have another baby?"

"Yeah. I think it's time we have another one."

Ziva mulled the idea over. "I don't know if we're ready Tony."

Tony frowned. "Of course we're ready. We've both got stable jobs. We make good money. We can turn the spare room into a nursery."

"I guess we could try," Ziva had to bite her lip to keep her smile at bay. "But we'll have to wait a while."

Tony's smile faltered. "Why? Zee I really don't think we need to wait for anything. If you're worried about having both kids at home, Tali will be starting preschool in the fa—" his retort was cut off as Ziva pressed her lips to his. The kiss was slow and sweet and lasted only seconds.

"We have to wait," Ziva put a finger against Tony's lips to silence him, "because it is impossible to conceive a child….when you are already pregnant."

"R-really?" he stammered.

Ziva smiled and nodded. "I found out a few days ago. I was going to tell you tonight."

"We're going to have another baby?"

"Actually…no."

Again Tony's expression faltered. "We're not? Why would you do—"

Ziva's finger silenced him again. "We are not having another baby. We're having two."

Tony's step faltered as his mind grasped what Ziva was saying. "T-two? Like twins?" Ziva nodded. Tony's hand drifted from her hip to rest against her stomach. "There's two of them in there?"

Ziva laughed. "Yes, there are two in there."

Tony's hand cupped her cheek as he kissed her hard. "God I love you."

"I love you too…daddy."

* * *

**Well that became something completely different than what it started as. I kind of like it. How about you?**


	8. Inquiring Minds

**Inquiring Minds**

* * *

"Mommy where are we going?"

Ziva glanced in the rearview mirror at her daughter, watching as Tali was stared out her window at the passing scenery. "We're going to pick up Aunt Abby and then we're going to the mall."

"To buy stuff for the babies?"

Ziva chuckled. Abby had been insisting for weeks that they plan a shopping trip and finally Ziva relented. Truthfully she was a little excited to be shopping for baby clothes again. Most of the things she had from Tali had been given away at this point, save for a few pieces of furniture that had been stored in Gibbs's attic. She and Tony hadn't talked about having any more children, but you never knew when those things would be needed. "Yes we're going to buy some stuff for the babies. And maybe something for you if you're good."

A few moments later Ziva's car pulled up to Abby's apartment building. The Goth was waiting outside and eagerly climbed into the passenger seat. "Hey Ziva. Hi Tali!"

"Hi Aunt Abby," the little girl squealed.

"Are we ready for some shopping?" Abby asked both DiNozzo women.

"Of course," Ziva answered.

"You bet!" Tali chimed in.

**NCIS**

Two hours and three stores later, this shopping trip was taking a heavy toll on Ziva's credit cards. She had already purchased a new diaper bag capable of carrying enough supplies for two babies, two car seats and a slew of outfits. Currently they were browsing their third department store, foregoing baby clothes for the moment in order to find Ziva some maternity clothes.

"I am not coming out in this," the Israeli's voice called from behind the fitting room door.

Outside Abby laughed and bounced Tali on her knee. "I'm sure it's not that bad. Tell your mommy she's being silly."

"Stop being silly mommy!"

Abby giggled after hearing Ziva groan from behind the door. Reluctantly Ziva appeared from the fitting room dressed in quite possibly the most ridiculous outfit that Abby had ever seen. Not only were the pants an atrocious plaid pattern but they were also straight legged. And the shirt made her already protruding belly look twice as large. Though Abby would never say it out loud, her friend vaguely resembled an ice cream cone. Yes, that comment would definitely end in pain.

"Why would someone put that print on a maternity top?" Abby gasped, her attention drawn to the huge flower that stretched over most of Ziva's stomach.

"I have no clue, but it was a mistake." She disappeared back into the dressing room without another word leaving Tali and Abby by themselves.

"Aunt Abby?"

Abby looked down at the girl in her lap. "Yes honey?"

"When will the babies get here?" she asked, innocently toying with the end of her pigtail.

"Not for a while, sweetie."

"How long?"

"Not for another 4 months. They'll be here after you start preschool."

"Okay," Tali nodded, turning her attention back to her mother who had appeared in another, much more fashionable outfit.

**NCIS**

"Oh my gosh Ziva! Look at this one!" Abby yelled holding up a little onesie with the Ohio State emblem printed across the front.

Ziva smiled. "Tony would love that. He is convinced that at least one of these babies will be a boy."

"You still don't know what you're having?"

"We've been trying to find out, but Thing 1 and Thing 2 did not want to cooperate during my last sonogram," Ziva supplied. "I guess we'll have to wait until next month."

"Have you talked about names yet?" Abby asked flipping through a few more racks of clothes.

"Not really. The only thing we talked about was not naming a boy Anthony."

"Why?"

Ziva pulled out a little dress, wrinkled her nose, then placed it back on the rack. "Tony does not want his son to hate him. He seems to think that that is the 'Anthony DiNozzo curse.'"

Abby shook her head. "Can it really be a curse if it has only affected one generation?"

"I do not know," Ziva laughed, "but he is convinced it is true."

"You know what would be amazing? If you had one of each, a boy and a girl…Oh! And then you could name them Luke and Leia!" Abby was nearly bouncing with excitement at the idea.

Ziva's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Why?"

Abby's arms dropped to her sides in disappointment. "Ziva! Are you kidding me? You've never seen Star Wars? Oh I am so telling Tony about this!"

"If you do he will make me sit through a movie that I probably could not care less about," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Three movies actually," the Goth corrected. "Technically I guess they were in four of them, but I don't really count Episode III because they were just babies then, and really only showed up in the last ten minutes."

"Mommy?"

Ziva smiled down at her daughter, happy for a distraction from Abby's ranting. "Yes tatelah?"

"There's two babies in your tummy?" Ziva nodded in affirmation. "Aren't they squished in there?" The little girl laid both hands on her mother's stomach as if to point out how small of a space it was.

Ziva chuckled, covering her daughter's hands with her own. "The babies are very small right now. So they fit in there just fine."

"How small?"

"Smaller than my hand."

Tali took her mother's hand and examined it, her little mind trying to imagine a being so small. "Was I that little?"

Ziva pinched Tali's cheek playfully. "Yes you were. But then you got bigger and bigger until my belly could no longer hold you."

"When the babies get too big, then they come out?"

"Yes," Ziva said. _'In a manner of speaking.'_

**NCIS**

After nearly four hours of shopping, the trio found their way to the food court for some much needed nourishment. Abby was digging through her plate of Chinese while Ziva scoffed down her pizza and Tali worked through her happy meal. The conversation flowed easily as Ziva and Abby discussed decorating the nursery.

"Where do babies come from?"

The question caught both women off guard, Ziva's pizza stopping halfway to her mouth. "I already told you, Sweetie, they come from mommy's belly." She took a large bite of her lunch hoping that her answer would be enough to satisfy Tali's curiosity.

"But how did they get in there?" she asked chewing on a french fry.

_'Damn.'_ She knew this question would come up eventually, but she really hoped that Tony would be the one to handle it. She looked to Abby for help.

But Abby only shook her head and laughed. "I'll let you field that one, Zee. I'm going to go get one of those new Caf-Pow smoothies." She jumped up from the table and disappeared in the throng of people.

Cursing her friend's cowardice, Ziva turned back to her daughter. She swallowed the lump in her throat and locked eyes with her inquisitive first born. "Well you see…"

**NCIS**

"Good God, did you leave anything in the stores?"

Ziva laughed as she joined her husband at the trunk of the SUV. "I only bought the bare essentials today, Tony. We still have a lot more to get before these two show up."

Tony sighed. "Luckily we've got a few months to get everything straightened out." He reached for a bag but Ziva grabbed his hand. He turned to her with a questioning gaze.

"Tali fell asleep on the way home," she explained motioning to the backseat.

Tony laughed. "I guess all the retail therapy tuckered her out."

"Between the shopping and the string of questions she threw at me, I'm exhausted as well."

Tony straightened his back, a still sleeping five-year-old clutched in his arms. "Questions?"

Ziva grabbed a few bags and the pair made their way into the house. Tony quickly climbed the stairs and put Tali in her bed, covering the little girl with her favorite blanket. Coming back down to the main level, he found Ziva returning with another armful of purchases. "That the end of it?"

Ziva nodded and dropped the bags on the couch. "She practically interrogated me about the twins."

Tony wrapped his arms around Ziva and kissed her cheek. "And how did you survive such a rigorous interrogation, Agent Dah-veed?"

"Just barely," Ziva laughed. "She asked me where babies come from."

"Ugh, and what did you tell her?"

A wicked smile graced Ziva's lips. "I told her that you were an expert in the subject and that she should ask you."

Tony's whole body froze allowing Ziva to slip from his arms and disappear into the kitchen. "You're a sick chick, Ziva."

"I know," she called from the next room, "but that's why you love me."

* * *

**Okay loyal reviewers, I need your help. I have come to a literary crossroads and I would like your input. Should the twins be: 2 girls, 2 boys, or 1 of each. I have an idea but I'd love to know what you guys think! Click review and let me know!**


	9. School Days

**School Days  
**I'm still deciding on the what genders the twins should be so if you have any last arguments for either choice be sure to let me know. I'm also wondering how long I can draw out this pregnancy. Maybe I should make you guys wait a few more chapters…. ;)

* * *

The blaring of the alarm was particularly obnoxious that morning as Ziva cracked her eyes and fought back the sudden feelings of nausea. Already in her sixth month of this horrid pregnancy, Ziva thought for sure that the morning sickness would have disappeared. Apparently this was not the case as it appeared that the annoying guest had no intentions of ever leaving. Most morning she was fine, but every once in a blue lagoon she would spend a full half hour in the bathroom bringing up whatever she had eaten the night before. It was on these particular days that Ziva came close to regretting her decision to have more children.

"Too early," Tony mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow his face was buried in. He threw his arm around Ziva's body and attempted to pull her closer.

Ziva smirked as she threw the covers back and dropped her feet to the ground. "You better get up. We have a busy morning."

Tony's arm flailed wildly as if swatting at an insect. "Five more minutes, mom."

Ziva grinned and shook her head. She already had two children to take care of, did she really want to double the work load? Speaking of children…she stepped into the master bathroom and she began the mental countdown. _'5…4…3…2…'_

Small footsteps pounded down the hallway toward their room. The bedroom door slammed open as a squealing Tali ran in and threw herself on Tony's sleeping form.

"Oof."

"Morning daddy!" she smiled brilliantly.

Tony ran a hand over her wild curls, so much like her mother's in the morning. She really was like having a miniature Ziva running around. "Good morning, Princess. Are you excited about today?" Tali nodded her head emphatically. "Well why don't you go brush your teeth and hair and get dressed while I make you a special 'First Day of Preschool' breakfast. What would you like?"

"Pancakes! With M&Ms and peanut butter!"

Tony laughed. "That is a lot of sugar that I'm sure you don't need. How about just pancakes?"

Tali tilted her head to the side, her teeth chewing on her bottom lip. "Banana pancakes?" she bartered.

Tony squinted at her. He couldn't believe he was negotiating with a five year old. _'At least it's quasi healthy,'_ he thought. "Deal."

By the time Ziva and Tali descended the stairs Tony had a stack of pancakes on the table, some with bananas and some without. There were also two mugs of steaming tea sitting on the counter. Since Ziva was no longer allowed to drink coffee, Tony had given up his favorite beverage as well in a sign of solidarity. The first week had been hell without the morning caffeine jolt, but eventually he got over that. Now he was only mildly irritating in the morning.

"Something smells delicious," Ziva said. She entered the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Tony at the stove, pressing her ever expanding belly into his back.

With a smile he turned around and laid his hands over her stomach. "And how are my boys this morning?" he asked with a quick kiss.

"Your girls are doing wonderful. They have spent the last twenty minutes kicking me like crazy. I believe that means they are hungry." Taking a seat at the table Ziva placed a banana pancake on Tali's plate and cut it up before preparing her own breakfast. She had learned long ago to avoid bananas as they almost certainly came back up shortly after being consumed.

"You better eat up, Tali. You're going to need your energy for school today."

Tony took a seat across from Ziva and claimed two pancakes for himself. Smothering them with maple syrup he stuffed two large pieces in his mouth. His attempt at conversation was futile as both Tali and Ziva just laughed at his mangled words.

It was shaping up to be a great morning. Tony hoped the rest of the day would follow suit.

**NCIS**

Slow days at NCIS meant paperwork, and paperwork meant irritable agents. Tony was doing everything in his power to avoid the reports that demanded his attention. After creating a rather impressively long paperclip chain he moved on to computer games. These did not hold his attention long before he was drumming against his desk with two pencils.

"Tony," Ziva growled.

"Yes my ninja?"

"If you do not stop tapping I will be forced to break every one of your fingers." The fact that she never once looked up or paused in her typing made the threat slightly more terrifying. But for whatever reason, Tony decided to push his luck that day. Some would call it hardheadedness others would define it as suicidal tendencies.

"You would never do it," he ventured. "And you know why?" Ziva's eyebrow lifted quirked in challenge. Tony leaned forward and lowered his voice just marginally. "Because you love my fingers too much," he said with a wink. Ziva rolled her eyes and fought the blush that threatened to color her cheeks.

To Tony's right, McGee made a disgusted noise and rose from his desk. "I'm going to see Abby," he called.

"Have fun, McVirgin!"

Ziva shook her head. "You are such a child. Why do you love torturing him so much?"

"Because it's what big brothers do." The conversation ended, the silence returned…as did the tapping.

"You know," Ziva interrupted, "you can admit that you are nervous."

"About what?"

"Tali." Ziva stopped her work and leveled a stare across the bullpen at her husband.

"I'm not nervous," Tony lamented. He did his best to look nonchalant, but she had long ago learned to read his subtle nuances.

A short silence filled the void before Ziva spoke. "I am." And with that simple admission she had leveled the playing field and opened the flood gates.

A thousand thoughts were racing through Tony's mind. What if Tali didn't like school? What if the other kids teased her? What if something bad happened and he wasn't there to protect her? What if, what if, what if…It was endless. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the worries from his mind. _'Tali is perfectly fine. If something happened the school would have called us. She. Is. Fine.'_

"Me too."

**NCIS**

"And then Mrs. Biggs let us go outside after lunch and play on the playground. And they have all kinds of slides and swings and tubes to crawl through!" Tali's hands gestured wildly as she talked.

Ziva watched as her daughter regaled every detail of her first day of school, flinching a few times as she thought the plate of spaghetti was going to end up on the floor, a casualty of storytelling. She was glad that Tali had had such a great day but she wondered idly how she was ever going to get the very excited girl to sleep.

"Did I tell you that we get to have art class too?"

"Really? That sounds like fun," Tony said.

Tali sucked a long noodle through her lips coating them with sauce in the process. "We're gonna make balloon animals next week!"

Ziva laughed as her daughter continued to weave her tale. It was good to know that all the worrying she and Tony had done had been for nothing. Of course, **she** knew that Tali was going to be fine. Call it mother's intuition, call it whatever you like. She knew her little girl.


End file.
